Alan Liere’s fish and game report for Aug. 3

Fly fishing

Rocky Ford Creek has been hit hard recently with summertime fly fishermen, and reports say the big trout are hitting hopper patterns. Hopper imitations are the go-to fly in most area waters now.

Hoppers are working for trout in the region’s cutthroat streams – especially in mornings before the summer heat bears down – says Sean Visintainer of Silver Bow Fly Shop.

Montana’s Bitterroot River this week joins a stretch of the upper Clark Fork going to “hoot owl” fishing regulations – no fishing from 2 p.m. to midnight – until water temperatures fall back.

Salmon and steelhead

Brewster Pool anglers may now keep one unclipped chinook per day and one clipped. This is the first time in four seasons that anglers have been able to keep a wild fish in this area, but fishing was slow this week.

The Buoy 10 fishery for chinook opened on Aug. 1, and initial reports have been good from above the Astoria Bridge. Coho salmon fishing is said to be excellent now out of Westport.

Baker Lake fishing has been tough recently with many longtime anglers saying it is the worst they can remember. The few who are catching fish say they are being found in unlikely places using unlikely methods, so if you go don’t hesitate to veer off from the pack.

The Wenatchee River opened on Aug. 1 for salmon fishing. The daily limit is four fish, of which only two can be hatchery adult chinook. All coho and wild adult chinook must be released. This fishery is also under selective gear rules and a night closure.

Salmon fishing continues on the upper Columbia River from Priest Rapids Dam to 400 feet below Rock Island Dam and from Wells Dam to Highway 173 Bridge in Brewster through the month of August. The daily limit is four salmon, two of which may be adult hatchery chinook. All coho and wild adult chinook must be released.

Other sections of the Columbia – from Rock Island Dam to 400 feet below Wells Dam, and from Hwy 173 Bridge in Brewster to Chief Joseph Dam – remain open through Oct.15 for daily catches of four salmon. In the Rock Island to Wells section, up to two of those four may be adult hatchery chinook and all coho and wild adult chinook must be released. In the Brewster to Chief Joseph section, up to two may be adult chinook and one of the two may be a wild chinook. All coho must released.

The Okanogan River remains open for salmon fishing through the month of August and beyond. From the mouth to the Hwy. 97 Bridge, the river is open through Oct. 15 for a daily limit of four salmon, up to two which can be adult hatchery chinook. All coho and wild adult chinook must be released.

Trout and kokanee

Large schools of 10- to 11-inch Pend Oreille kokanee are being marked from 60 to 100 feet. Pink hootchies tipped with maggots behind a dodger have been very effective near the old cement plant.

Mackinaw are the most popular fish at Priest Lake this summer. Trollers are doing well on big plugs and spoons in 60 to 100 feet of water, and jiggers using plastic Glo Baits sweetened with a piece of pikeminnow are doing well at the same depths. Priest Lake kokanee, though nice-sized, are not abundant. There are lots of smallmouth to be had, however.

Loon Lake kokanee were up to their old tricks with me this week. Night-fishing with two friends, I was low man on the totem pole with only five, and had not even a bite until one of my friends had put 10 in the boat and the other friend landed eight. We all used the same small Glo Hook with maggots and fished on the same side of the boat three feet apart. Go figure.

Decent trout fishing is reported at area lakes Amber, Williams, West Medical, Badger, Rock, Sprague and Clear. Sprague has also been good for largemouth bass. Most trout anglers are trolling early and late. If you are planning on keeping a few fish for the frying pan, clean them promptly and get them on ice.

Northeast District fish biologist Bill Baker says that waters stocked with cutthroat are good bets early and late in the day. Long Lake in Ferry County, as well as Browns and Yokum lakes in Pend Oreille County and Little Twin Lake in Stevens County should all be fishing well.

In Columbia County, five of the six Tucannon River impoundments on the W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area – Big Four, Blue, Deer, Spring and Watson lakes – remain open to fishing for hatchery trout, although water temperatures have slowed the action.

Spiny ray

Walleye fishing at Potholes Reservoir is still slow. Anglers who are moderately successful are working the weeds. Take a lot of nightcrawlers as the bullheads have been pesky this year. On the weekend of Aug. 26-27, Potholes Reservoir is the site of a walleye fishing event hosted by the Central Washington Fish Advisory Committee. Details are available at the MarDon Resort webpage.

Banks Lake has been fairly consistent for walleye, but anglers there this week have reported less than stellar fishing.

Palmer Lake in the Okanogan near the Canadian border has a thriving bass fishery – both smallmouth and largemouth. There has been a very good bite early and from dusk into the night. A lot of these fish are over 16 inches long, and perch to 10 inches are also abundant.

The Snake River remains good for smallmouth just about everywhere there are rocks in the water. Go a little deeper with tubes and other plastics, or try trolling or casting crawdad pattern crankbaits.

Long Lake (Lake Spokane) has some phenomenal bass habitat. Frog patterns on top of the pads can really get exciting, but for numbers of largemouth, fish the structure. As always, smallmouth will be lurking in rocky areas. Coffeepot and Downs lakes also have good bass fishing, and all three of these lakes have rainbow trout.

Walleye fishing is going strong on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Some of the best catches have come from Lake Umatilla, the section of the Columbia River stretching 67 miles between John Day and McNary Dams. Angling upstream of McNary has also been good.

Walleye are also active on the Hanford Reach of the Columbia, as well as on the lower Snake River below Little Goose and Ice Harbor dams. There is no minimum size and no limit on the number of walleye, bass or channel catfish kept while fishing in the Columbia and Snake rivers.

Hunting

Due to high demand for nonresident deer and elk tags, Idaho Fish and Game commissioners have decided to keep them at full price. Resident Idaho hunters can now buy nonresident deer and elk tags as second tags, but must pay the full nonresident price of $301.75 for deer and $416.75 for elk. Nonresidents can also buy these as second tags starting Aug. 1.